Doctor Who Season 11B Episode 2 – The P'Ting Dilemma
by Ratin8tor
Summary: The Doctor and co arrive on a seemingly desolate moon base, only to come face to face with a P'Ting literally eating the roof above their head. Can the Doctor and her friends escape from the base before it is compromised beyond repair? What are the strange scientists hiding? And what is the origin of the P'Ting?
1. Episode 1

"Hello? Can anyone hear me? Hello. This is Determan Seven, can anyone hear us? Urgent distress call for... well, anyone. We need your help. It's gotten free. I repeat, it has gotten free. It's currently roaming around the base and I don't know how much longer we have left. Please, send an evac shuttle as quickly as possible. We need to have an emergency evacuation before it... No... Please no God help me stop pl-"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Doctor Who

The P'Ting Dilemma

Part One

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The groaning, wheezing noise echoed throughout the moon base, bouncing around the corridors like a cat looking for its prey. By the time the noise had died down, however, it was clear that there was no one to answer its call.

The door to a large blue box opened, a blonde woman with a smile on her face and a spring in her step, bounded out the doorways to examine everything that was before her.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Doc?" asked an older gentleman, cautiously exiting the capsule.

"One should always respond to a distress call," said the Doctor, not bothering to turn around. "Universe sees who we truly are by how we act in situations like this. Especially when it seems to cut itself off almost as quickly as it was broadcast."

"I think he means more about whether it's a good idea to just jump straight in without looking," said a younger man, following his surrogate grandfather out of the ship.

"You did scan this area to see if it was safe before we arrived, didn't you Doctor?" asked a woman in concern.

"Course I did Yaz," said the Doctor, before pausing. "Well... I checked when I opened the door. But since we're all still breathing, I think things are already off to a good start."

"You're a worry Doc," said Graham.

"Distress does imply urgency," said the Doctor. "Besides, TARDIS is designed to get itself out of danger if things were wrong. If it was truly inhospitable we wouldn't have even been able to open the doors. As such, just trust her decisions... I certainly have at this point."

"So where are we Doctor?" asked Ryan.

"Well, at a guess, this would be some sort of moon base, sixty-fifth century judging from the architecture choices. Central hub, with everything stretching from it like octopus tentacles. No doubt the base was dropped here a while back to study something found on this moon."

"Dropped here?" asked Yaz.

"Yeah, it would have detached from a spaceship and landed as one large base. Saves them the effort of having to build the base when they arrive. And when it's done it can just be blasted back off into space again, to be picked up at some point. Very reusable and cost-efficient, your century could learn a thing or two from this."

"That's all very well and good," said Graham. "But that doesn't explain the distress call."

"Then let's stop standing around here chatting and go find out more," said the Doctor. "Come on! This is going to be a real adventure."

The four of them left the small room they'd arrived in down one of the corridors, unaware that they were being watched by a sinister presence.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Determan Seven?" said Ryan, reading the inscription on the wall dedicating the base using his phone as a flash-light, as above them the lights dimly struggled to illuminate more of the scene.

"It'll be part of the larger spaceship," said the Doctor. "Seventh capsule. Don't ask me who Determan is though, I'm a bit rusty when it comes to this time period."

"Where is everyone?" asked Yaz, as they walked around the central control room. It was set out in an octagon shape, with various pieces of scientific equipment dotted around the room. The place was a mess though, with random pieces of equipment stewed about, as if a horde of cats had decided to pass through on their way to the dinner bowl.

"They obviously left in a hurry," said Graham, as he picked up a cracked test tube. "Could they have perhaps nipped outside?"

"No, the moon's inhospitable," replied the Doctor, looking over the central console. "If they did need to leave they'd have used the emergency escape pods, but as far as I can tell they're still all here." She smacked the console in frustration as it flickered.

"So if they're not outside, and the escape pods are still here," said Yaz slowly, "where are they?"

"There's the sixty-four thousand dollar question," said the Doctor absent-mindedly, running her sonic screwdriver over the console, before putting it away in frustration. "Oh it's no use," she said. "There's just too much missing from this, I can't get a steady connection."

"Should we go look at other parts of the base while you stay here?" asked Yaz, looking at the various corridors that split off from the main control room.

"You what?" said Ryan. "Have you never watched a horror movie? It's always safer to stay together. If we split up we'd be picked off one by one."

"Ten points to you Ryan," said the Doctor brightly, turning around and giving him a smile. "Finally, a companion who understands the importance of not wandering off."

"But we ain't going to figure out a lot standing round here," replied Graham. The Doctor bit her lip, knowing her friend had a good point, but also knowing that centuries of experience had taught her that letting her buddies wander off almost always led to more trouble.

"Alright," the Doctor relented. "But you have exactly five minutes. And don't go out of earshot."

"In that case," said Yaz, pulling out her phone and typing in a number. Graham frowned as his phone suddenly went off.

"Pick it up," said Yaz, a small smile on her face.

"Oh of course," said Graham, cottoning on and pulling out the phone, putting Yaz's call on speaker.

"Your phone bill is going to be insane this month," said Ryan.

"Good thinking Yaz," said the Doctor. "Right, you and Ryan go for a wander, Graham and I will stay here. And remember, five minutes. No more."

Ryan and Yaz nodded, picking a corridor seemingly at random and setting off. Little did they realize the danger that they were putting themselves in.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, Doc," said Graham cautiously, as he attempted to clean up the mess in the lab. "Why do you always run into dangerous situations?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," said the Doctor. "Whenever someone asks for help I never refuse."

"Yeah, and I get that," replied Graham, attempting to lift up a metal block and found it weighing far more than its size would suggest. "But, well... Why do you never ask us beforehand?"

The Doctor paused, looking up from the console.

"Not that I'm saying we shouldn't help," Graham said quickly, hands up defensively. "Just, it would be nice if we had a bit more of a say about whether we get ourselves into these scrapes, or if we get someone else to help out instead."

"I'm sorry," said the Doctor. "I just assumed you were all okay with it."

"I am," said Graham half-heartedly. "It's just... I'm worried about Ryan. I love that boy, and I know I can't stop him travelling with you, and that if I stay with you I'll keep a closer eye on him, but..."

The Doctor said nothing, looking at her friend with concern. She strode over to the man, putting her hands on his shoulders, looking him dead in the eye.

"Trust me Graham," she said. "I will do everything in my power to make sure no harm ever befalls Ryan."

"I know that," said Graham, pulling away. "But this life... it has its risks, and I don't want to lose another family member. Do you ever think that maybe it's better to just let the authorities handle this instead?"

The Doctor said nothing, unable to think of a reply to comfort Graham. The silence hung in the air awkwardly, not wanting to move on and be forgotten like it usually is. Eventually the Doctor turned back round and worked on the console, trying to focus on the matter at hand. Graham, meanwhile, got back to his organizing. Neither of them wanted to press the issue further than necessary, but it was clear that there was a lot unsaid.

"Got it!" the Doctor said excitedly, if only to change the topic. Graham put down the clipboard and went over to the console.

"It's video of the distress signal," said the Doctor. "Hopefully this will give us a few more clues."

As they watched the young woman panic and cry, different thoughts crossed their mind. Graham couldn't help but think of Ryan in the same situation, the Doctor thinking of how often she'd seen something like this. Their ruminations were cut short, however, when they saw a familiar sight.

"Hang on," said Graham. "Was that..."

Before he could finish the Doctor was already rewinding the tape, pausing at just the right moment to reveal-

"Yaz!" the Doctor said, grabbing Graham's phone off the table. "Ryan! Get back here right this second! We need to leave right now!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yaz and Ryan walked down the poorly lit corridor in silence, neither feeling any particular need to say anything. By this point they'd grown use to each other's company, and had reached that level of friendship where things didn't need to be said to stop it from being awkward.

What was awkward, however, was the conversation they overheard between Graham and the Doctor, both of them seemingly forgetting that Graham's phone had been left out in the open.

Yaz looked at Ryan, who looked back and shrugged. It was nothing entirely new to him. Graham cared about him deeply, and Ryan had learned to look past a man who had seemed like an imposter in his life, and instead into the caring adult who genuinely wanted the best out of him. After all that had happened, it made sense that Graham would be concerned.

Yaz likewise stayed silent, her thoughts turning to her family as the conversation went on. Graham and Ryan might only have each other, but at least they were honest. Yaz's family had no idea who she really was at this point, what she'd really gone through, how much she had changed. The weekly visits home had only grown more awkward over the last few months, as she just couldn't relate to whatever drama was happening in his sister's life, or find herself too involved with the mundane banalities that made up her parents existence.

So the two of them continued to walk on in silence, neither quite able to articulate the thoughts crowding their mind. Their trains were derailed, however, upon noticing something quite unusual.

As Yaz shined her phone's light closer at the oddity, a sinister thought crossed both their mind. The metal in front of them seemed almost as if it had been... well, eaten. But if that was true, that could only mean one thing.

"Yaz!" cried the Doctor's voice over the phone. "Ryan! Get back here right this second! We need to get out of here right now!"

The two of them turned and sprinted back down the way they came, since the Doctor had just realized the same thing they had, the answer to why the place was so empty: There was a P'Ting loose in the base, and that spelled danger for them all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Come on!" the Doctor said urgently, as her three companions followed her back towards the TARDIS, all thoughts of exploration gone from their mind. They knew the danger of the situation, and that their only hope was a blue box not far away.

The Doctor collided with the TARDIS' door, almost bouncing off it from the impact if not for the fact that she grabbed the door handle to steady herself. With millenniums of practice she grabbed the key, turned the lock.

And the door stayed firmly shut.

The Doctor frowned, jiggling the key, but it refused to turn. She pulled it free, taking a step back to look at the TARDIS in confusion.

"What's all this then?" she asked, slightly offended. But just as she finished her sentence a familiar groaning, wheezing noise echoed around them. The TARDIS started to grow fainter, disappearing from existence with every flash of its light. The Doctor and her companions looked on in horror as their own means of escape literally vanished from sight, but as the last hints of it faded away, a far bigger concern overtook them. For behind the TARDIS, snarling away, was a P'Ting. It had been denied its meal, and was ready to eat the very walls currently keeping them safe. If they didn't act fast, the P'Ting would have its lunch, and they'd be toast.


	2. Episode 2

Doctor Who

The P'Ting Dilemma

Part Two

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Okay fam," the Doctor said with a forced cheerfulness. "Let's just slowly back away so I can seal the door shut."

"Won't it just eat through the door?" said Graham.

"Yes, but I'm sure that it'll appreciate the meal long enough for us to get to a safer area of the base," the Doctor replied hopefully.

"What do we do after that though?" said Yaz. "We don't have the TARDIS."

"Oh she can't have gone far," said the Doctor. "On the bright side the HADS works."

"The what?" asked Ryan.

"Hostile Action Displacement System," answered the Doctor. "Told you the TARDIS wouldn't put itself in a dangerous position. Now, we just need to back out of here slowly."

The four of them crept back as the P'Ting looked at them curiously. For every step they took back, it seemed to take a step forward.

"Almost there," said the Doctor, slowly pulling her sonic screwdriver out of her pocket. As soon as the creature saw the shiny light of the screwdriver its mind was set, and it lunged. In a few graceful moves the Doctor threw the sonic screwdriver at the P'Ting, while pushing her companions backwards, before her hand shot out and hit the button that closed the door. The P'Ting landed in front of the door, visible by a small porthole in the bulkhead between the travellers and the monster. It seemed to look around for a bit, before jumping to another side of the room. With a few quick bites it had eaten its way through the wall of the base, getting itself sucked out from the differing in air pressure.

The Doctor watched the P'Ting disappear outside, before turning back to her companions.

"So a quick summary," the Doctor said.

"The TARDIS' gone!" said Ryan

"So is your screwdriver," said Yaz.

"And we have no idea where the P'Ting is," finished Graham.

"Right, all on the same page then," said the Doctor. "That makes it easier. So... What do we do?"

"This is where you come in," said Graham.

"Yes, it is, isn't it," said the Doctor. "Can't wait to see how I get out of this one."

"Who are you?" said an unfamiliar voice. The four of them turned to see someone wearing a spacesuit standing at the end of the corridor.

"Oh hello," said the Doctor brightly, rushing forward and holding out her hand. "I didn't think there was anyone here. Who are you?"

"It's not safe here," said the strange figure. "Quickly, with me." The figure turned and took off. The Doctor glanced at her companions, before the four of them followed. The unease between them filled the air. The P'Ting was out there. And they had no idea where it'd strike next.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ooh, this is cozy," said the Doctor, as the stranger led them into a kitchen. There were two other strangers, a man and an alien, sitting at the other end around a dinner table. "Hello," the Doctor continued, holding out her hand. "I'm the Doctor. And you are?"

"I'm Price," said the forties-something man, his stern, military-like demeanour clashing with his unkempt look. "You've met Jen," he continued, nodding to the stranger who had led the Doctor and co there, revealing herself to be a young, brown-haired woman in her early twenties as she took her helmet off and put it on the table. "And that's Perrott," finished Price, his hand waving towards the strange alien. The head looked a bit like a beaver's, if beavers had five eyes, and its body started off looking human, but ended with a bunch of tentacles for the bottom half, with a long stinger coming out from its behind. The stinger was currently buzzing, with three of the eyes that were looking at them squinting in disapproval.

"Where have you come from?" Perrott demanded, all five eyes now focused on the new people.

"We came to answer your distress call," said the Doctor. "Thought we might be able to help. I take it the person that sent the call..."

"She died," said Price stiffly. "But that's not important. Why are you really here?"

"We just said," said Ryan. "We want to help you."

"Doesn't look like you can help yourselves," said Perrott. "We should get rid of them, we don't have enough food at it is."

"Careful Perrott," said Price tetchily.

"Oh will you two knock it off," said Jen in frustration. "We need to figure out what our next move is."

"Descend into cannibalism?" replied Perrott. "Granted for me it's ethically okay, cos I'm not a human, but as consequence I'm sure I'd be the first to be eaten when it comes to that."

"For gods sake Perrott," Price said angrily.

"Right then," said the Doctor, breaking a tension that had clearly been building for days. "Lets stop asking questions and start getting some answers. I'm the Doctor, Graham, Ryan, Yaz, we came here in my spaceship which is currently somewhere on the planet's surface, and there is a P'Ting loose on the station that, judging from your facial hair, has been free for the last ten days. So why don't you tell us what you know, and we can start working together to get ourselves out of this mess."

The three inhabitants of the base looked at the Doctor, then at each other, and then Jen and Perrott at Price. The man sat silently, before giving a slight nod. Jen returned it, pulling something out of her pocket.

"For the record this is strictly classified," said Jen.

"Our lips are sealed," said Graham with a small smile. Jen didn't reply, instead putting the strange disk on the ground. A holographic projection sprung up around them, transforming the kitchen into a busying metropolis.

"This is what this moon use to be like," said Jen, as they admired the technology that for the twenty-first century humans seemed like something out of science-fiction. "Mercer was a civilization at the peak of technology, a successful colony base that had quickly transformed itself into one of the major economic hubs of the empire."

"Wait, this was what this place use to look like?" Ryan asked, but was quickly shushed by the others. Jen seemingly ignored the question and continued.

"It was also the leading developer of new ground-breaking ideas, including something that they had labelled the 'grey goo' initiative. They reasoned that if they could create self-replicating nano-machines, they could create an unlimited resource that would revolutionize life as we know it. Imagine being able to instantly create anything with the snap of the fingers, using just tiny machines?"

The projection around them flickered and changed. Suddenly they found themselves standing in a laboratory, surrounded by scientists. Ryan jumped as one of them put a non-existent arm through his chest, tapping glasses with his colleague as a toast to their success.

"This was one of the last videos to be beamed off the moon," said Jen. "They're recently perfected the device, and all that was left was to turn it on. And, well..." Jen said nothing, letting the video play for itself. A scientist at the far end of the room pressed a button. A blob of grey liquid on a podium in the middle of the room suddenly shuddered and contorted like it was silly putt in the hands of an invisible child. The podium itself seemed to glow, with for metal spikes on each corner crackling with a forcefield.

As they watched the blob seemed to form tentacles, reaching out and grabbing a small metal cube next to itself. It dragged the cube inside and, impossibly, seemed to get slightly bigger. Soon it was doing the same to all the other items placed upon the table.

The scientists cheered, one of them playfully throwing his wine glass at the blob, which caught and absorbed it. Another soon followed with their coffee mug. Soon a few of them were mucking around, chucking all sorts of objects at the blob, laughing away. The grey goo blob tried to reach out, but was stopped by the forcefield, a one-way wall that let things in, but make sure the grey good didn't get out.

Their laughing started to die down, however, as the blob suddenly stretched itself flat, before crawling up the sides of the forcefield it had been placed in. Soon it appeared to be nothing more than a rectangular block of greyness, squirming as if it was a pile of insects. The scientist that had pressed the button to start the process started pressing others, concern growing across his face.

The rectangular block of grey goo suddenly collapsed inwards, the four corner pillars that had been holding it in a forcefield collapsing likewise. The scientists had quickly stopped laughing, their faces a mask of fear. The goo quickly swarmed over the side of the podium, as the podium itself seemed to shrink away, the goo growing ever bigger.

Graham, Yaz and Ryan backed away in fear from the grey goo that was washing around their feet, even though it didn't physically exist. The Doctor stood still, studying it intently.

"It wasn't long before it broke out of the laboratory," said Jen. The projection cut back to the outside view it had shown at the start, but now it showed a dark, twisted view of what was once a seeming utopia. The cars that were flying were doing so erratically, narrowly avoiding each other. Meanwhile rockets were taking off all around them, fleeing the planet. Those that remain stampeded away from the wave of grey goo that was quickly enveloping the scene.

"The nano-machines converted all inorganic matter into energy that it used to create more of itself," said Jen. "Nothing anyone did tried to stop it. As such, it wasn't long till it got to the atmospheric generators and, well..."

The projection then cut again to show the dead land stretching across them. A barren rock, littered with the skeletons of those unfortunate enough not to escape. They stretched as far as the eye could see.

"It can't eat organic material," said Jen dispassionately, as the projection faded away. "As such, the bones are the only thing left on this planet. It was immediately quarantined, and it has been that way for thousands of years."

"So what changed?" asked the Doctor.

"This moon was undergoing its yearly scan," said Price, getting up from his seat and crossing over to the centre of the room. "It was there when movement was detected. At first it was thought to be a mistake, as the nano-machines couldn't keep multiplying without a source of energy, but more scans revealed that there was definitely something here. As such, a research base was allocated to land and trying to find what was causing the anaomolies."

"And that's when you encountered the P'Ting?" said the Doctor. "It would have been drawn to you like a moth to the world's brightest light. But once you realized it was dangerous, why not just leave? The escape pods are still here."

"You really don't know what's been happening, do you?" said Perrott. "You really are the worst spies."

"Spies?" said Graham in confusion. "'Ere, are you just looking for any old excuse to blame us."

"What does he mean?" said the Doctor urgently.

"When we got here we successfully captured the creature," said Price. "Who this lot thought to call a P'Ting, as a loving tribute to me. And since we were the first to discover this creature and to name it, the fact that you knew what we called it is highly suspicious..."

"Yes yes," the Doctor said frustratedly. "Can we get back to what matters. You caught the P'Ting and it escaped-"

"No," replied Price.

"No?" said the Doctor.

"It didn't escape."

"What do you mean it didn't escape?" said Yaz. "We saw it running around."

"I never said one wasn't," replied Price. "But the P'Ting didn't escape. See." With that he turned and walked over to a box that had a tablecloth draped over it, that had been sitting near the door they had entered. With a flick of the wrist he threw it off to reveal-

"But that's a P'Ting?" said Ryan, confused. "Are there two P'Tings?"

"Oh of course," said the Doctor, as she went to have a closer look at the creature. It too was suspended in a forcefield, much like the grey goo that they had seen in the projection. This cage, however, was different in one crucial feature.

"Artificial skin around the forcefield generators?" the Doctor asked.

"Since it can't eat organic material, it won't be able to eat its way out of that," replied Price.

"Fair," admitted the Doctor, studying the P'Ting. "So let me guess. You captured it and studied it, but then inexplicably another P'Ting showed up?"

"Yes..." said Perrott cautiously.

"Well then it's obvious, isn't it," said the Doctor. She turned to see blank expressions on all those involved. "We know the grey goo can replicate itself, so why couldn't the P'Ting do the same?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not following," said Graham.

"Yeah I'm kinda lost as well," admitted Yaz.

The Doctor looked at all of them, baffled. Clearly the owners of the base had figured out most of the clues by this point, but her friends were still struggling to keep up.

"Look, once the grey goo had eaten everything around it, it quickly ran out of energy," explained the Doctor. "As such, it needed to evolve to deal with this new issue. As such, over all that time, it eventually became the P'Ting."

"You're saying the grey goo stuff is now that?" asked Ryan, pointing at the P'Ting.

"Oh it's brilliant," said the Doctor. "Grey goo turning itself into a sentient life-form. It's amazing, I love it... Wait, no, hang on. Did I mention that the P'Ting we saw is a copy of this P'Ting?"

"Wait what?" said Yaz.

"Clearly when you captured this P'Ting it felt threatened and split a bit of itself off," said the Doctor. "That bit slowly started to absorb this station and grow until it could create a copy of itself. So we have twin P'Tings. A P'Ting dilemma, if you will."

"Well this history lesson is great and all," said Graham. "But how does this exactly help us?"

"Knowledge is power Graham," said the Doctor. "Now that we know what it is, we know how to deal with it."

"Hold on a moment Doctor," said Yaz. "Don't P'Tings have poisonous skin?"

"Yes," said the Doctor, not really following her friends train of logic.

"Well how is that skin alive if it should die when the P'Ting touches it?"

"I..." The Doctor's faced suddenly froze, fear slowly creeping across it. She spun round to see the P'Ting studying the group intently. Almost as if it was listening.

"I really wish you hadn't said that..." the Doctor said, as the P'Ting shuddered. Slowly it reached a hand out to touch the skin covering the forcefield generator. As soon as he touched it the skin started to blister and melt, revealing the metal underneath.

"What did you do?" said Price angrily.

"Turns out that it's smarter than we let on," said the Doctor. "It's constantly adapting and evolving, working out how to get itself free. It heard what Yaz said and changed to follow the advice, and..." Her sentenced trailed off as the P'Ting continued to touch the flesh, it dropping to the bottom of the cage in slimy lumps. As soon as there was enough space the P'Ting put its mouth around one of the spokes and the corner and bit into it. There was a shimmer, mimicking the one seen in the projection, before it disappeared completely. With the forcefield gone, the P'Ting were free. And they were all trapped with it.


	3. Episode 3

Doctor Who

The P'Ting Dilemma

Part Three

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Quick question, should have asked before this all started: How have you been keeping the other P'Ting out of here?"

The Doctor patiently waited for her question to be answer as they all backed away from the snarling P'Ting standing in front of them, sniffing the air.

"We electrified the room," said Price. "Turned it into a Faraday cage."

"Oh did you?" said the Doctor. "That was pretty clever. If I had my sonic, I'd be able to get us out of this mess pretty easy."

"And since you don't have your sonic?" asked Yaz.

"I do something just as amazing," replied the Doctor, "but with my own two hands. So if this room is electrified, you have to have a specific generator, yes?"

"Yeah, it's in the wall over there," said Price, nodding to the wall to the left of the Doctor.

"In that case..." The Doctor slowly made her way over to the panel as the P'Ting looked around, picking up a few cups near it and eating them. Making sure to keep her eyes on the being she tapped the panel, which opened a panel of wires. Slowly the Doctor grabbed a handful, looking at the others in the room.

"The moment it happens," she said, "get through that door there." She nodded at a door near the P'Ting. Everyone looked at her in confusion and fear, so the Doctor decided to go for it. With a single yank she pulled a collection of wires out of the wall.

The room suddenly plunged into darkness, lit only by a trail of electricity that shot out towards the other door. They saw the P'Ting move towards the electricity, before the Doctor started to shove them through the door. It was only after they were all through the Doctor slammed the door shut behind them.

"What did you do that for?" Perrott demanded angrily.

"I'm sorry," said the Doctor, confused and winded. "P'Tings are drawn to energy, so I simply turned the electrical current protecting this room into something that the P'Ting would be willing to follow. As such, it's currently running away from us rather than towards us."

"Yes, but now we have nowhere that's safe!" Perrott retorted.

"We're safer now than we were ten seconds ago," countered the Doctor. "It wouldn't matter what our next moves would be if we were dead now, would it? But since we're alive, we can start figuring out a way out of this situation. So, options?"

"What about those escape pods you mentioned?" asked Graham.

"Yeah, why haven't you used them?" the Doctor asked. "Surely the moment you realized the P'Ting was a threat you'd have jumped straight into one?"

"That was one of the first things we tried," said Price. "Unfortunately the P'Ting sabotaged the system too badly, and we can't get powers to have it take off."

"Not that it'd work," said Perrott bitterly. "At most we could only get one escape pod to work, but the capsule can only carry five of us, and I think you'll find that would mean two of you lot would have to stay behind."

"But if we could get power to the capsule," said the Doctor, "it could take off and rendezvous with the Determan?"

"I mean it's certainly possible," said Price. "But it's a moot point anyway."

"Not exactly," said the Doctor. "What if we diverted all the power to one of the capsules in one big bang? That should have it take off."

"But that would also draw the P'Ting in," said Jen. "There's no way of knowing whether they'd be able to get in before the pod took off."

"So we need to lure the P'Ting away from the capsule while its powering up, while also finding a way of getting all six of you on it."

"Hold up," said Graham. "What do you mean, 'all six of you'? You're not staying behind Doctor."

"Someone has to stay in the control room and keep an eye on the controls," said the Doctor. "Especially in order to step the self-destruction from going off early."

"I'm sorry what?" asked Ryan.

"All bases are built with a self-destruct feature," explained the Doctor. "In case of absolute disaster, the base can destroy itself to stop anything from getting out... That's why you haven't contacted the Determan yet, isn't it? You know that if they knew what the P'Ting really was they'd destroy the base rather than let it get free."

"Correct," said Price. "One of my crew members sent out the distress signal without my consent, and I was quick to terminate it. To be honest the fact you turned up at all was not expected."

"Be glad we did. Right, so, here's the plan. The six of you get in the escape pod, and I reroute the self-destruct explosive energy to help power it up and propel you off the surface."

"No," said Ryan.

"No?" said the Doctor.

"No," repeated Ryan. "We either all get out of this, or none of us do."

"Maybe we should listen to the Doc," began Graham.

"No Graham," said Ryan. "I know you worry about my safety, but you're not the only one who cares for others. We need to come up with another idea."

"Could you use the TARDIS?" Yaz asked.

"If I could get to it," said the Doctor, thinking quickly. "Depends how far away it is. It should be somewhere on the surface, so if I borrow Jen's spacesuit..."

"So go get the TARDIS and swing by to pick us up," said Graham.

"Right, if nothing else, we need to get to the control room," said the Doctor. "You know how to get us there?"

"Follow me," said Price, as he led them to the control room. He didn't trust the Doctor, but if she could get them off the moon, then at this point he really had nothing to lose.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Found it!" said the Doctor. "TARDIS, five miles due north. I should be able to make it in about half an hour if I sprint it."

"There you go then," said Graham. "Go and get it for us."

"It'll take me a while to reprogram it though," the Doctor said. "She isn't willing to come back here, not with the P'Ting still around. I'm not sure I can find a work-around."

"I believe you can do it Doctor," said Yaz, giving the Doctor a comforting smile. The Doctor smiled back.

"Right, so, here's the plan: We set the base to self-destruct in one hour. You lot take all the equipment you can find and collect on in this corridor, it should be the furthest point away from the capsule. Hopefully that'll attract the P'Ting, and you can make it to the escape pd with no trouble. Then someone needs to stay here and make sure the power is flowing correctly, correcting any anomalies that appear. Hopefully the build-up of energy will be enough to power up the capsule and let it escape the orbit of the moon, to be picked up by the Determan. So I suppose the question now is... which one of you is going to stay behind?"

"Me," said Graham, Yaz and Ryan simultaneously. The other three said nothing, avoiding the Doctor's gaze. The Doctor debated about which group to argue with first, and decided on the guilty party.

"Why aren't any of you volunteering?" the Doctor asked the crew of Determan 7. "You caused this mess, it is your responsibility."

"We didn't do nothing," said Perrott. "How could we have known that any of this was going to happen?"

"You came down to this planet with a cage to catch a P'Ting," the Doctor pointed out, "and equipment specifically to experiment on it. If I didn't know any better I think you knew this was happening."

The three of them said nothing, trying to wait it out. Finally Jen broke.

"Okay fine," she said. "We're working for the military. They were thinking that the P'Ting could perhaps be used as a weapon. But we never intended for any of this to happen."

"You lot never do," the Doctor said. "You see an individual living a peaceful life and what do you do? Arrive here, capture it, and experiment on the poor thing. You are the reason all this happened."

"Oh shut up," Price said angrily. "You're telling me that you've never done something ruthless to aid your side? Never experimented on something in order to gain an edge, consequences be damned? You've never used a living thing against its will?"

"Of course not," the Doctor said quickly.

"Come now Doctor," Price said sourly. "We both know that isn't true. I've read your record, and I know what you created during the war."

The Doctor said nothing, glaring at the man. Suddenly there was a shuddering, breaking the tension. Jen checked the central console.

"The P'Ting has taken a bite out the walls," she said, checking the readings. "We've lost corridor six."

"Look, we don't have time to waste," Graham said. "I'll stay behind and make sure you lot make it off safely."

"No!" Ryan and Yaz said in unison, but Graham held up his hand to silence them.

"Ryan, I made a promise to your nan to look after you," he said. "Yaz, you have your own family to get back to. This is the only way. So lets not waste time arguing before the P'Ting literally eats this base from out underneath us."

Yaz and Ryan glared angrily at Graham, but the Doctor grabbed the brave man and dragged him to the console.

"Right, here's what you need to do," the Doctor said, explaining what was going to happen the moment the self-destruct started. The others milled around awkwardly, waiting for instructions. Graham nodded, and the Doctor turned back round.

"I'm about to start the countdown," said the Doctor. "Jen, you need to come with me so I can grab your spacesuit. The rest of you, I want you to find anything that produces energy. Batteries, appliances, whatever you can. Pile it down one end of the base and turn it on, then immediately make your way to the escape pod. Jen, you'll meet them there. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded. The Doctor nodded back, turned, and pressed a button on the console.

"Self-destruct activated," said a female robotic voice. "This base will be destroyed in sixty minutes."

"You heard the lady," said the Doctor. "We have just under an hour. Now go!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Doctor and Jen ran through the base, entering back into the kitchen they'd first met, picking up the helmet that Jen had left on the bench. With it in hand they started to make their way to the northern most airlock.

"Why do you need my suit?" Jen asked.

"Because yours is the only one left," said the Doctor. "If you lot were sensible you would have put on your spacesuits and left the base, and waited for the Determan to pick you up while the P'Ting ate the base. Instead the three of you were stuck in the kitchen. Ergo, the P'Ting must have already gotten to the spacesuits, and it was only by luck that you happened to be wearing yours during the panic."

"You're right," Jen said in surprise. "That's brilliant."

"Helps that I also checked all the systems when I got here," said the Doctor. "The central console said the same thing. I also suspect that you were the one sent on reconnaissance whenever you needed to leave the kitchen. Right, here we are." The Doctor and Jen stood next to the airlock door, Jen hurriedly trying to take the suit off, the Doctor examining the other suits. Sure enough they were all damaged in some way, no doubt a consequence of the P'Ting fancying a snack.

Jen had managed to get the gloves off when she froze. Suddenly she swung round, holding her hands out as the P'Ting suddenly dropped down onto the vent and straight at her. She struggled wildly to hold the P'Ting away from her as it squirmed in her hands, the beast managing to break free and scratching at her spacesuit.

The Doctor sprung into action, grabbing the fire extinguisher off the wall and blasting the P'Ting. The monster let out a shriek and backed off from the sudden burst of cold, shivering a little bit as it took off down the corridor. The Doctor ran over to Jen, helping her up.

"Good thing it wasn't the poisonous one," the Doctor said, inspecting the spacesuit. Jen looked down as well and swore.

"Language," the Doctor said, as she poked one of her fingers through the holes. "Well there doesn't seem to be any major structural failure," she said hopefully.

"You can't take this outside," Jen said. "It won't protect you."

"It'll do enough," the Doctor said. "I'm tougher than you humans."

"You still plan to go out wearing just this?"

"I have to. My friends are relying on me. Anyway, we don't have time to argue. Help me into it. Hopefully I'm a faster sprinter than I remembered."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Perrott asked sourly, as he put the blender next to the microwave.

"Why do you always have such a negative attitude?" replied Ryan.

"It's what his race is like," said Price, as he tapped away at the control panel in the wall. "They're always pessimistic and miserable. That's what you get when you live on a planet that never stops raining."

"Starting to wish I never left," said Perrott. "I could be in my dam right now, but no, I'm stuck on a quickly collapsing base."

"Why did you choose this job then?" Yaz asked.

"Money," replied the two scientists in unison.

"Couple of years on one of these ships will get you set for life," said Price.

"Presuming you live long enough to enjoy it," added Perrott.

"So you were experimenting on the P'Ting solely for money?" Yaz asked, faintly disgusted.

"It's not a living thing," said Price dismissively.

"It's real enough mate," said Ryan. "Maybe if you were nicer to it we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Oh spare me your sob story," began Perrott, before suddenly falling silent. The rest of them followed his gaze to see the two P'Tings standing there, curious.

"We may have over-estimated how much power we needed," Perrott said carefully. Trapped in a dead end, they had no way of escaping the P'Ting. The creatures let out a toothy grin and, without warning, suddenly leapt right at them!


	4. Episode 4

Doctor Who

The P'Ting Dilemma

Part Four

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The P'Tings lunged, avoiding the four of them to start eating the various pieces of equipment that had been piled up in the dead end. Ryan and Yaz looked at each other and nodded, before making their way down the corridor. Price and Perrott were quick to follow, leaving the P'Ting to their meal.

They met Jen in the control room, learning that the Doctor had already made her way out of the airlock and was currently make a break for it to the TARDIS.

"How long do you think they'll eat the bait for?" asked Ryan.

"Hopefully long enough," said Price. "We have to wait here though. We start the escape pod start-up sequence too early and they'll be drawn straight to it."

"What happens if they eat everything too quickly though?" asked Yaz.

"Then we're dead," said Perrott. "Because your Doctor friend seemed to think it was a good idea to blow this place up."

"Speaking of the Doctor," said Graham, turning to Price. "How do you know who she is?"

"All commanders are given a briefing on the Doctor before every mission," said Price. "I was expecting a man, but we've learned never to underestimate the Doctor and the danger she poses."

"The Doctor isn't dangerous," said Ryan.

"No?" said Price. "You've obviously not travelled with her long enough. The Doctor leaves death and destruction no matter where he, or she, goes."

"That's not true," said Yaz.

"Tell that to the people of the Khalifa," said Price sourly. "The few survivors say that the Doctor was merciless at destroying the ship. The Puth reported the same thing. All ships in the sector have the Doctor as a code red."

"I find this very hard to believe," said Graham.

"It doesn't matter what you think," said Price. "But I've lost good friends on those ships when the Doctor turned up. I'm just glad she's not going to make it to the Determan."

"She'll come back," said Yaz. "You can count on the Doctor."

"You really don't know her at all, do you... Well, follow the Doctor then. Just don't be shocked if she leads you to your death."

The Doctor's friends said nothing, glancing at each other, shifting uneasily.

"Twenty-five minutes to self-destruction," said the computer voice.

"Let's go," said Price. "We need to start the ignition sequence for the pod. You know what to Graham?"

"You can rely on me," said Graham, turning to Ryan and Yaz. "Now go you two... I'll meet you with the Doctor in a little while."

Yaz and Ryan said nothing, sweeping Graham up in a hug. Graham returned it, before pushing the two of them away. They didn't have time for sentimental. Besides, the Doctor wouldn't let her down. She never did.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Doctor let out a sigh of relief when she saw the TARDIS ahead of her. Fortunately she hadn't got lost, despite how similar everything looked. The trip across the moon had been hellish so far. The suit had protected her from the worst of the sun's rays, and the oxygen tank allowed her to breathe as long as she limited it to short bursts. But even her Time Lord biology didn't make her invincible.

She briefly wondered how many regenerations she had left. If she didn't make it to the TARDIS, if she died here, the regeneration would certainly kick in... but it wouldn't keep her alive for long, repeating the cycle yet again. How long would it take before she finally died?

No, there wasn't time for morbid thoughts. Her friends countered on her, and despite the pain racking her body, she was almost at the TARDIS. The fact that he legs gave way from underneath her in exhaustion wasn't a reason to start getting pessimistic, not when the TARDIS was only a few feet away.

She dragged her body across the sandy ground, aware that her oxygen tank had run out, and she was only getting by with the air in her lungs. Still, she'd held her breath for a long time before, this was no different than her dinner date with Houdini when she went over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

The TARDIS was in touching distance, all she had to do was open the door and crawl inside. She pushed at the door, but it refused to open. Of course, the TARDIS had locked herself, she needed to get her key.

Using the handle for support she pulled her arm out of the sleeve of the suit, rummaging around in her pocket until she could find it. Her other hand started to take the suit off, so that she could get the key into the keyhole. She was dimly aware that this probably wasn't the smartest way of doing things, but her mind was starting to swim into blackness.

As she put her key in the lock, suit half off, body in agony, she failed to get it to turn. The TARDIS refused to open, since the forcefield hadn't been reset, and it wasn't safe. The Doctor put her head against the door, reaching out telepathically. All she needed was this door open so she could go inside.

But she was quickly running out of usable oxygen, and he was struggling to concentrate. She weakly pounded at the door, as she slowly started to slip into unconsciousness, ready to die on this alien planet. As everything darkened she just hoped her companions could forgive her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It's awfully cramp," said Ryan, as they struggled to fit within the capsule. The seats took up most of the room, forcing Ryan and Yaz to crouch awkwardly in the corner as the other three buckled themselves in.

"It's only meant for three people," said Price. "You two are only here because we can take off with the extra weight. I'm going to warn you know though, it's going to be extremely painful. You might not make it."

"Wait you're saying we could die?" said Ryan.

"We're blasting off in a rocket," said Perrott. "The G-Forces are going to be pretty significant. If your lucky you're only gonna suffer major wounds."

"We should have taken our chances with the Doctor," said Yaz, as she squirmed awkwardly to get herself comfortable.

"Ten minutes to self-destruct," said the computer.

"How are things Graham?" asked Price.

"Everything is proceeding to schedule," said Graham. "So far the re-routing is storing the energy from the self-destruct to redirect into the capsule. There haven't been any major problems so far."

"Good man," said Price. "Your sacrifice will be remembered."

"Do you think the Doctor is back at the TARDIS?" Ryan asked.

"Course she is," said Yaz. "You can trust her. We're only here to make it easier for her to just pick up Graham."

"Well I for one can't wait till we leave this miserable place," Perrott said sourly. "As soon as we get back I'm putting my two we- What was that?"

The five of them paused as they heard the pitter-patter of feet on the roof of the capsule.

"You don't think-" began Ryan.

"They're looking for dessert?" asked Jen. "I'm not waiting to find out." She panicked and started to try and undo her seatbelt, even though it had firmly clamped her in.

"Stop panicking," said Price, as Jen tried to get free. Suddenly lights all around the capsule started to flash urgently.

"What's going on?" asked Ryan.

"The P'Ting are interfering with the systems," said Price. "If we don't do something soon they'll destroy the escape pod."

"Can we distract them?" asked Yaz.

"With what?" asked Perrott.

The two friends looked at each other, before an idea dawned on them.

"Open the doors," said Yaz.

"What are you on about?" said Price.

"We can lead them away from you with these," said Yaz, showing the group her phone. "Hopefully we can distract them long enough for you to get away."

"Fine by me," said Perrott, reaching past Price and pressing the door open button. Ryan and Yaz looked at each other and nodded, squeezing past the seat and out the door, waving their phones.

It was only when they were halfway down the corridor they realized that their plan wasn't working. The quickly turned to go back to find the P'Ting... only to find the door shut behind them.

"What's going on?" demanded Yaz.

"I'm sorry," said Price over the intercom. "You lot were too heavy. We couldn't risk not taking off."

"You're leaving us here to die?" said Ryan.

"You chose to come here," Price replied. "That's what you get for following the Doctor. I recommend you go back to your friend, spend your last moments together. I'm sorry, but I have to think of my crew first."

The two looked at the capsule and made a run for it back to the console room, hoping that the Doctor hadn't picked Graham up yet, and that they could grab a ride. But they both knew the chances of it happening were slim to none.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Doctor leapt out a deep, grateful breath and pushed herself to her feet. The blurry shapes around her slowly formed into the shape of a familiar sight.

"I knew you wouldn't let me down," the Doctor beamed, running away from the entrance she fell into and towards the central console.

"Right, we just need to go back and pick up Graham," said the Doctor, starting the dematerialization sequence. The familiar wheezing, groaning sound failed to happen, as the TARDIS refused to budge.

"Oh come on now," the Doctor said in frustration. "We have to go back and save him." The TARDIS groaned, seemingly in response.

"Yes, I know the P'Ting are there, but I promise I won't let them get to you... Look, you know you can trust me, I just need you to co-operate... Don't make me override you." The Doctor slammed the console, but the TARDIS refused to budge. The Time Lady put her head in her hand, wishing she'd gotten one of the newer models last time she was on Gallifrey, before stopping. She froze, realized how stupid she'd been.

"Oh I'm so sorry," the Doctor said. "Of course you don't want to go back, you're scared. I should have realized. The P'Ting is terrifying, isn't it?"

The TARDIS said nothing, but the Doctor knew it was listening.

"After everything I've put you though... I'm sorry, I should have thought about this. I'm sorry for putting you into these situations. But... You once said you take me where I need to be. Well I need to be there to save my friends. But if you don't want to do this, if you want to stay here, then I don't think I could ever face the universe after letting them down. I'd stay here, forever, as punishment. Neither of us want that, do we? So... will you help me help them?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ryan!" Graham said in shock. "Yaz! What are you doing here?"

"Price doesn't want us to jeopardize his escape," Ryan said sourly.

"Oh he doesn't, does he?" Graham replied. "Wait till he hears from me... Price! Why did you kick my friends off the escape pod?"

There was no response, save from a computer voice reminding them that they only had four minutes left.

"Price!" Graham repeated, but no response. He frowned in concern. Suddenly a familiar chatter appeared over the intercom.

"Wait, is that..." Ryan said slowly. As if to answer his questions a camera feed in the escape pod flicked on to reveal the two P'Tings running around inside of it. Price, Perrott and Jen all lay dead, killed by the fast-acting poison that coated one of the P'Tings. One of the P'Tings was on the main console, accidentally pressing buttons without realizing it. A hole in the roof revealed how they got in.

"He got us out to save us," said Yaz.

"Or he didn't realize the P'Ting were actually there," said Ryan.

"Whatever the case is, it doesn't really matter, does it," said Graham. "This place is about to go up and take us with it!"

"Ninety seconds to base destruction," said the computer voice. The three friends looked at each other before embracing in a group hug, each filled with regret. Yaz wish she could say goodbye to her family, Ryan wish he had been nice to Graham, and Graham wishing he could have kept Grace's promise.

"Sixty seconds to base destruction," said the computer voice, unconcerned with the three friends silently sharing their last goodbyes. Their silence was broken, however, by the most wonderful sound they'd ever heard.

"Don't just stand there," the Doctor said, beckoning them into the TARDIS. "She isn't going to want to stay around here for long." The three didn't need telling twice, literally throwing themselves into the TARDIS. The Doctor slammed the door and raced to the console, running around it like a mad woman, throwing all sorts of switches and levers.

As the TARDIS took off the voice counted down, finally hitting one. The base erupted into flames, the power surge being directed towards the escape pod. The capsule fired, shooting off the moon and into the night sky. All that was left were scraps of metal floating to the ground, and a fire that quickly put itself out.

Determan 7 was gone for good. And the P'Ting were on a new adventure.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Whatever happened to the P'Ting?" Graham asked, as the TARDIS drifted through space.

"They cause havoc for a few centuries," said the Doctor. "Fortunately no one ever manages to capture them, so they don't multiply any further. Eventually they consume so much matter that they become beings of pure energy, and end up helping the humans power their ships when the universe stars to end."

"So they do good in the end?" Yaz asks.

"Most things do good in the end," said the Doctor. "Or at least I'd like to think they do."

"Price said some stuff about you," said Ryan. "About the Khalifa and the Puth being destroyed by you. Is it true?"

The Doctor said nothing, walking around the console, very deliberately eating a biscuit to try and avoid the issue. Clearly Ryan wasn't going to let it go, especially now that the other two were interested.

"I did some things in my past I'm not proud of," the Doctor said slowly. "Back when I was a different man. I did some bad things for the greater good. Ever since then I've been trying to do the right thing wherever I could. I may not be perfect, but I like to think I do good in the end."

"Just like the P'Ting?" asked Yaz.

"Just like the P'Ting," agreed the Doctor. "Anyway, that's the past, and why go there when we can visit the future. I have just the resort planet for you... imagine a spa the size of an ocean!"

As the Doctor programmed their next destination she tried not to think of the guilt building up inside of her. After all, she was trying to be better. Surely that must count for something... didn't it?


	5. Next Time

Next time on Doctor Who: History of the Daleks

The Doctor takes her companions to Hopies, only to discover a terrible revelation: The Neo-Kaleds, a party who idolize and worship the Daleks, have taken control of the government. How will the Doctor and her companions put a stop to this terrible injustice? How far is she willing to go to protect a planet that she loves? And what is going to happen if the real Daleks turn up?

Read Part 1 now: s/13223286/1/Doctor-Who-Series-11B-Episode-3-History-of-the-Daleks


End file.
